In a move that many feel will only increase crime rates in the country, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte plans to ban pothead tourists from visiting the Netherlands’ many legal cannabis coffeehouses. Under his new plan, residents would have to carry cannabis cards to frequent any of the country’s 670 weed shops.

“The measure will come into force for the (southern) provinces of Limburg, North-Brabant and Zeeland, the provinces most affected by drug tourism, on January 1,” justice ministry spokeswoman Charlotte Menten told AFP.

Under the new policy, which some have warned could drastically curb tourism revenues, licenced coffee shops will be considered private clubs with a maximum of 2,000 members limited to Dutch residents who are older than 18.

Menten said the measures would come into force in the rest of the country in January 2013.

The policy aims to cut down traffic jams, nocturnal disturbances, and the abundance of drug pushers catering to the millions of foreign tourists drawn to the Netherlands by its relaxed marijuana laws.

Coffee shop owners have come out against the measures, citing expected losses in revenue.

The European Court of Justice ruled in December that banning foreigners was justified “by the objective of combating drug tourism and the accompanying public nuisance”.